Chapter 8 — The Drooling Dog
“If you’re trying any funny business, you’d best turn back now.”
Tae Seo-hu slowly walked behind the white-haired old man. She reacted swiftly to his movement, turning her head to follow him. He stood with his arms crossed, tilting his head slightly as he looked down at her with cold eyes—but she did not avert her gaze.
“If you believe it to be a trick, you may cast me out. But it isn’t, is it?”
The white-haired old man stroked his beard and rebuked Seol-yun sharply.
“Enough of this stubbornness. There may be reasons for concealing one’s identity as a merchant lord, but for a young lady to stand before the Prince and dare call another man the Jin Prince as well—such insolence warrants punishment.”
Despite the old man narrowing his eyes and lowering his voice with imposing gravity, Seol-yun responded with a faint smile. He was merely a strategist—the head of the Zhuge family, who stood beside the Jin Prince in flowing white robes, weaving schemes.
“Shall I step outside and shout it aloud?”
She remembered that with such a strategist—said to be the most brilliant among all martial families—the Jin Prince had risen without defeat. To deal with a man like that, one had to press him without giving him time to think. Just like now.
“W-What did you say?”
“I’ll draw everyone’s attention and head to the Uigeumbu. Once everything is laid bare, we’ll know who the real Jin Prince is—and who is merely a guard.”
Is she truly planning to shout?
The two men sitting across from her exchanged glances. The mere fact that they had attended the Sichuan Tang Clan’s wedding as invited guests while hiding their identities was suspicious enough. That secrecy itself gave Seol-yun the perfect opportunity to expose the Jin Prince.
“Over here! Jin—Mm—!”
Before she could finish, a chillingly low voice brushed against her ear.
“Why don’t you shut up?”
“Mm—!”
The gaze that bore into her was murderous and cold. He had approached her without her noticing, lifting her chin and forcing her head back. The moment their eyes met, Seol-yun’s heart pounded violently.
He exuded the noble aura of an immortal descended from the heavens, yet his gaze was as chilling as that of a reaper come to claim her life. Goosebumps spread across her entire body.
“You came alone, didn’t you?”
“Why? Planning to eliminate any future trouble and silence me forever?”
“That depends on you.”
If he applied just a little more pressure to the hand gripping her throat—
Her life and death rested entirely in Tae Seo-hu’s hands.
Though her hands trembled in fear, Seol-yun curled her lips into a smile. Perhaps finding that noteworthy, Tae Seo-hu loosened his grip ever so slightly.
“If I don’t return within half a shichen, I’ve instructed my maid to come looking for me here. Will you continue wasting time like this? There’s barely enough time left for a cup of tea.”
Clicking his tongue, Tae Seo-hu stepped away from her with a sharp expression. Seol-yun rubbed her neck with her right hand and coughed lightly, steadying her breathing. At his signal, the old man vacated his seat. Tae Seo-hu naturally took the place of the man who had just called himself the Jin Prince.
“Very well. I am the Jin Prince of the Western Regions.”
With his eyes, he questioned her—Who are you?
He had come to the Sichuan Tang Clan in search of saltpeter and sulfur to create Hwa-seopja (Fire Ignition Pellets). Yet he couldn’t understand how she had uncovered his identity.
The Tang Clan, famed for crafting hidden weapons, was known to possess large quantities of sulfur. He had taken the opportunity to visit under the pretense of observing the Choryeong Kingdom—and, with a wedding providing the perfect distraction, he had planned to examine their mechanical blueprints or new poisons.
Instead, things had turned against him.
He had set numerous safeguards and avoided any speech or action that might reveal his identity. Yet here stood a frail-looking girl, staring straight at him and boldly calling him Your Highness, the Jin Prince. It was so absurd he almost laughed.
Who are you?
Furrowing his brows, the Jin Prince examined Seol-yun from head to toe.
She wore a maid’s outfit and stood upright with a harmless smile, yet beneath her wide sleeves her clenched fists trembled, and cold sweat trickled down her temples.
“This humble girl greets Your Highness, the Jin Prince. I am Tang Seol-yun, the Young Lady of the Sichuan Tang Clan.”
Tae Seo-hu gestured for her to come closer.
“I’m fine. It’s more comfortable standing.”
At her response, he rested his chin on his hand atop the round table and smirked.
“Since I’ve decided to hear you out, nothing predictable will happen—so don’t worry.”
A chill ran down Seol-yun’s spine.
By “predictable,” he meant things like killing her, threatening to kill her, or asking if she wished to die.
The villainous Jin Prince.
The undefeated man who, in the future, would invade the Choryeong Kingdom, surround the imperial palace, and force the emperor himself to surrender with the imperial seal.
To such a man, a life like Seol-yun’s—fragile as a flickering candle—meant nothing.
Seeing her pale face, Tae Seo-hu twisted his lips in a teasing smile.
“You look like you’ll collapse any moment, trembling like that. I’m just being considerate—don’t take it to heart.”
“Th-this humble girl…”
Only now did her voice crack from tension, turning hoarse. Waiting for the right moment, she tightened her grip on the powder hidden within her sleeve and sat across from him. The table held overturned teacups and a teapot, but no one offered tea.
Neither of them trusted anything—or anyone.
With one eyebrow raised, the Jin Prince muttered toward her bowed head—too loud to be a monologue, too soft to be direct.
“Where did that resolve go—the one that made you charge in ready to die?”
He added, explaining why he was willing to listen.
“When dogs are afraid, they bark first. It’s their way of begging for mercy—telling you not to come closer. But the truly dangerous ones…”
“……”
“…aren’t the barking dogs.”
“They’re the ones that drool. Like you.”
A willingness to perish together if she couldn’t get what she wanted.
Despite wearing plain, colorless clothing, her presence carried undeniable weight.
The Jin Prince, who had initially identified her only as a Tang Clan young lady, now looked at Seol-yun—who had revealed herself as the clan’s heir—with growing interest. The bride of the wedding, appearing in a maid’s outfit and seeking him out—why?
“Isn’t it improper to request a meeting with another man on your wedding day?”
His reprimand, pointing out how it clashed with the conservative customs of the Choryeong Kingdom, was met with a smile. For Seol-yun, propriety and decorum no longer mattered.
Her priority was survival—escaping the husband who deceived her, the stepmother, and the half-sister plotting to seize the Tang Clan. Revenge could come later. None of it mattered if she died.
“I am not bound by such customs, Your Highness.”
To live, she needed the Jin Prince’s help.
He was the only one who could save her.
Only the undefeated villain—the Jin Prince.
“Anything you require from the Tang Clan, I can obtain. As the Young Lady, I can provide medicinal herbs, poison formulas, even antidotes—anything that may be of use to you.”
“And?”
“So… please take me with you when you leave.”
The Jin Prince’s eyes widened.
He had expected, at most, that she would use her knowledge of his purpose—purchasing saltpeter and sulfur—to bargain.
But this?
She was asking for far more.
Is she attempting something even bigger?
A faint smile crept onto Tae Seo-hu’s lips. He realized he could not treat her as an ordinary woman.
One thing, however, was certain.
She truly was a drooling dog.
He made a mental note to have her information thoroughly recompiled.
“What if I refuse?”
“…Then I have no choice.”
She seemed to back down for a moment, acknowledging that such a request was difficult to accept outright. Then she bit her lower lip—and suddenly threw a small square pouch onto the table.
Thud.
At the impact, powder burst into the air.
“Your Highness!”
The Jin Prince kicked the table’s leg and leapt back, but not before inhaling some of the powder. A tingling sensation spread through his hand. The floating particles glimmered clearly in the sunlight streaming through the octagonal window.
“A poison I personally created using the Tang Clan’s secret methods. Only I can produce the antidote. For one month, you must take a pill once a day.”
Her gaze locked onto his.
“Even now… would you still refuse?”
